


The Four Keys

by ravaged_by_fandom



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Disney California Adventure, Disneyland, Goofy's Sky School, M/M, Slow Burn, all of these guest interactions are based on actual experiences, cast member au, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-31
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-07-11 10:53:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7046299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravaged_by_fandom/pseuds/ravaged_by_fandom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kylo is a sullen new Attractions cast member, assigned to Goofy's Sky School in Disney California Adventure. Hux is a hardass supervisor making his life hell. This is supposed to be the "happiest place on earth," right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Attraction

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so glad I finally get to share this! I've provided a glossary at the end because I know there are some weird terms we use. If I've missed anything or you need a clearer explanation, just let me know!
> 
> Come talk to me on [tumblr!](http://www.keenonstormpilot.tumblr.com)
> 
> My artist for the big bang is [panicstaticn!](http://panicstaticn.tumblr.com) I love the art they drew for me!!
> 
> [otp-kylux](http://otp-kylux.tumblr.com) made an awesome [playlist](http://8tracks.com/kylux_trash/the-four-keys) for this story!

Ben Solo was renowned amongst his fellow cast members for his bad attitude. Being a Disneyland cast member wasn’t just a job, it was a privilege; yet here was this sullen nightmare making a mockery of it. When you worked at the “happiest place on earth,” would it kill you to at least smile?

Kylo, as he liked to call himself, usually felt like it would kill him to smile. He was here to do a job, and he felt like he did it well enough, even without the smiling. Well, he hadn’t been fired, at least. That had to mean something.

Kylo had barely been working at the park for a month, but his reputation was solidified during his initial training period when he screamed at a woman for running between the floats during the parade. When he was escorted backstage, Snoke, the area manager, took him into his office for a “private coaching.” Kylo was frankly creeped out to be alone with the old man, and Snoke let out a wheezing chuckle that was probably meant to be comforting.

“Between you and me,” he sneered, “I think she deserved it.”

This ran so counterintuitive to everything Kylo had been taught so far, that he honestly didn’t know how to react, and coughed around a nervous laugh. “I guess …”

“But that’s just between us, right?” Snoke winked.

Kylo shivered.

When Snoke finally released him back to his trainer, he sternly told Kylo not to let such an incident happen again, but Kylo knew it was an act. He didn’t care enough to reveal it.

Once he had been signed off on guest control* (though no one understood why because Kylo was absolutely terrible at it), Kylo was told he’d be trained at the smaller coaster in the back corner of the theme park. He wasn’t enthusiastic about the news, but he honestly had no choice in the matter. He could always fail the Performance Assessment* on purpose if he hated it.

The morning of his first day of attraction training, he met Rey, a more seasoned cast member who would be showing him the ropes. She was bubbly and enthusiastic, and it immediately irritated Kylo.

Rey lead him to the Costuming building and showed him which aisles held the different costume pieces he was required to wear. Each piece was worst than the last. When she tossed a faded newsboy cap, the most hideous shade of mustard Kylo had ever seen, on top of his growing pile of clothing, Kylo could no longer hide his disgust.

“Do I honestly have to wear this?” He looked down at the garish primary-colored monstrosity in his arms. “This is the ugliest costume in the parks.”

“You’re wearing what I’m wearing.” Rey raised an eyebrow and motioned to her own immaculately kept costume.

“I had hoped it was an elaborate prank.”

Rey shrugged. “I think it’s pretty cute. I’ve gotten plenty of compliments from guests.”

Kylo rolled his eyes and doubted he would ever receive any sort of compliment from a guest. He resigned himself to looking like an idiot.

Once all of the pieces were checked out, Rey lead Kylo upstairs to the changing rooms. If Kylo thought the costume was bad on the hangar, he could barely stand to look at himself in the mirror. The high waisted pants made his long legs look even ganglier, the vest hung off of him like a potato sack, and the hat pressed his hair down in a way that emphasized his large ears. He sighed heavily as he pinned the nametag that read “Ben” onto the left side of his vest. He hated everything.

The first day of training did not go smoothly, though not because Rey wasn’t a good teacher. She was patient and took care to explain each procedure, and why it was in place. The fault ultimately fell on Kylo. Working the attraction made him nervous because it felt so complicated; the guests made him nervous because they felt so unpredictable. It didn’t help that all of the cast members who already knew the ride had an easy and carefree camaraderie that vexed Kylo, and filled him with an acute bitterness he couldn’t really process. He doubted any of them would come to view him the same way.

At greeter, Kylo was overwhelmed by the amount of questions he was asked, the answers to which he was still learning himself. He constantly had to check the heights of wiggling children, turning many of them away, which lead to no less than seven tantrums in 20 minutes. He also had to check each guest’s fastpass return times; guests seemed to lose all concept of time while in the park. Rey always stepped in, light and breezy, whenever he started to flounder. Kylo didn’t know it was possible to be both grateful and angry until he was being repeatedly saved by someone who was objectively better than him.

The Unload position started off slightly better, as he had far fewer tasks to focus on. He mostly just had to make sure guests got out on the correct side. Rey explained that this could be controlled through spieling, but the idea of repeating the same few lines over and over for 30 minutes exhausted Kylo. His mouth was dry and he was getting a headache. He chose to stand silently and motion with his hands. It mostly worked; but eventually, a taller man got out on the wrong side, and when asked to walk back across the vehicle, decided he’d rather jump across the track.

It happened so fast, there had been no time to react. Kylo felt rooted to the platform, not quite visibly shaking (thank god), and stared at the spot the man had previously occupied. This was it, he thought. He was going to be fired, and he hadn’t even made it to his first break.

“Sir, for your safety, please make sure you listen to cast members’ instructions in the future,” Rey admonished the guest as politely as possible. She turned to Kylo and laid a soothing hand on his arm. “Don’t worry. It’s happened to everyone.”

Kylo didn’t believe her, but at least she wasn’t mad at him.

Main Console was easy as long as nothing was going wrong. Rey stood behind the console, her hand poised over a large red button labeled “Station Stop,” and explained that someone’s hand had to be on it at all times in case of an emergency.

“Isn’t that what the emergency stop is for?” Kylo scoffed.

“That’s for a super emergency, because once its pressed, we have to evacuate the ride.”

“That sounds unpleasant.”

“I actually rather enjoy it!” Rey grinned. “You get to hang out with the guests while you wait for Maintenance to release them.”

Of course she’d enjoy it, Kylo sighed internally. She seemed to enjoy literally everything.

Rey explained the rest of the buttons, knobs, and indicators, then ran through the computer screen that helped monitor the rest of the attraction. “This is where any alarms will show up. There are a lot, and the only way to really learn them all is through experience, but it’ll come to you quickly.”

Kylo was terrified by this new (lack of) information, but kept it buried under the surface.

After that, Rey finally took Kylo backstage for their first break. Kylo stood awkwardly at her side as she logged into the computer. He heard a knock on the heavy door directly behind him, which then swung open to reveal a thin red-headed man nearly his height. Kylo awkwardly shuffled out of the way.

The man was staring at a clipboard and didn’t look up when he started talking. “How’s the training going, Rey? The ride’s actually cooperating today; you may not get that evac you wanted.”

“Ben’s doing pretty well!” Rey replied enthusiastically.

Kylo looked away at the mention of his birth name.

“He’s a bit quiet, but we’ll work on that,” Rey added, nudging Kylo in the ribs with her elbow.

The redhead finally looked up and met Kylo’s eyes with his own. They were green and piercing and suddenly Kylo couldn’t breathe. “Hello, Ben. My name is Hux; I’m the main Lead* for this attraction.”

“We all call him by his last name because he’s basically a dictator,” Rey stage whispered dramatically.

Hux ignored her and continued, “I run a tight operation here. There hasn’t been a single safety* since I took over. I’m sure you’ll uphold that standard, if you get signed off.”

Under that punishing gaze, and already feeling overwhelmed from the massive amount of information being dumped on him, Kylo could only swallow thickly and nod.

“Good.” He turned back to Rey. “I’m going on lunch. Mitaka will be on point* until I return.”

Rey looked dubious at this announcement.

Hux sighed. “He wants to try for Lead soon, so I’m giving him a bit more responsibility. I’m sure you won’t let the ride burn to the ground.”

“Sir, yes, sir,” Rey saluted.

Hux rolled his eyes. “Good luck, trainee.”

Once Hux had disappeared around the corner, Kylo let out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “He seems … intense.”

“That’s certainly a word for it,” Rey replied. “Let’s go read some of the operating guide, and then we’ll run through the rest of the positions. I’m really hoping the ride will break down once in the next three days so you get some evac experience.”

“That’s kinda messed up,” Kylo pointed out.

Rey shrugged. “Would you rather have your first evac happen after you’re signed off, and you have to do it alone?”

Kylo soured. “No.”

“Exactly!”

They spent the next couple of hours reading through the attraction’s incredibly detailed and tedious operating guide, which specified each and every one of the safety procedures and precautions. Kylo nearly fell asleep three separate times.

“I’m never going to remember all of this,” Kylo mumbled through a yawn.

“Of course, you will! It’ll be second nature before you know it,” Rey assured. “But it’s definitely time for a change of pace. Let’s head back to unload. I want to make sure you’re comfortable there, especially after the jumping incident.”

Kylo bristled, but he couldn’t really argue.

When they entered the station, Rey let Kylo take the lead to make sure he remembered the crossing procedure; it was the quickest way to get from one side of the station to the other, but meant he had to walk across the moving vehicles. Hux was watching vigilantly from the corner.

Kylo loomed behind Finn, who was currently grouping guests into the vehicles. He didn’t want to interrupt, but he ended up just creeping Finn out, who jumped when he realized Kylo was behind him. “May I cross?” Kylo muttered.

“Sure thing!” Finn smiled, moving to stand in front of the guests so no one would try to board.

Kylo moved next to the empty vehicle, crossed his arms in front of his chest like he was taught, and muttered, “Cross.”

Mitaka, whose permission and full attention was required in case Kylo fell, was preoccupied with guests’ lap bars and did not respond.

“Cross!” Kylo tried a bit louder, feeling like everyone was staring at him as he just stood there impotently, the vehicle leaving him behind as it slowly crawled forward.

There was still no acknowledgement from Mitaka.

Kylo’s shoulders scrunched up in frustration and he barked, “CROSS!” far too loudly. He could swear it echoed throughout the entire station.

Mitaka flinched and scrambled for the dispatch console. “Cross,” he replied sheepishly, his hand now resting on the “station stop” button.

Kylo made his way across the vehicle, swinging his leg around the outside. He was terrified of stumbling, further embarrassing himself, but he made it across in one piece.

Poe, who was currently at unload and way too handsome to even be fucking fair, eyed Kylo wearily before shrugging and taking the exit stairs two at a time, relinquishing unload to Kylo’s control.

Kylo decided that he’d at least tell guests to exit to their left while also using hand motions. That way if another guest did something idiotic, he could escape any blame. Between vehicles, he looked back across the station and saw Rey deep in conversation with Hux, who was regarding him coldly. The crossing incident was probably a bad first impression, but it was too late.

After 15 minutes of successfully directing guests to the exit, Poe returned to take over and Rey beckoned Kylo back over to her. Mitaka was keeping a panicked close eye on Kylo and nearly shouted, “Cross!” in unison with him. Mitaka’s fear satisfied a dark part of Kylo.

While Rey explained the Merge position, Kylo rested his elbow on the fastpass collection box. He suddenly felt a sharp jab against his bicep.

Hux had materialized behind him and was poking him with his pen. “No leaning.”

“I’m not leaning,” Kylo argued.

Hux raised his eyebrows and looked pointedly between Kylo’s elbow and his face until Kylo sighed heavily and pulled his arm back down. Hux left without another word, seemingly satisified.

“Is he always going to be like this?” Kylo hissed at Rey.

“Yep, but he’s right. Your posture is important; if you slouch or lean, it makes you seem unapproachable to guests.”

Kylo seethed. “But I wasn’t leaning!”

Rey looked unimpressed.

Kylo wanted to kick the stupid metal box over, as if this were all its fault, but he merely grit his teeth in frustration.

Hux continued to surprise him with criticisms for the rest of the day. While at dispatch, “Speak up. The guests can’t hear you.” While Rey explained how to turn on the fastpass machines, “Stop slouching like that.” While Kylo practiced setting up the extended queue, “Look at all of these empty plugs*! Didn’t you learn not to do this from guest control!?”

Kylo excused himself to “use the restroom” and ended up punching a locker backstage, wanting to scream out his frustration, but knowing he'd get in trouble.

Unfortunately, Rey saw the entire thing. She looked deeply concerned, but she tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. “I know Hux can be a bit much, but he’s just trying to uphold the Disney standard. It isn’t personal.”

“It feels personal,” Kylo muttered as he cradled his throbbing hand.

Rey was about to respond when they both heard an alarm sound from the station. Rey immediately brightened. “Evac!” She lead Kylo back onstage where sour-looking guests were pouring out of the queue. They pushed through the crowd and headed into the station.

“What happened?” Rey asked Hux, who looked positively livid.

“Block eight*,” he bit out, his eyes sliding over to Mitaka.

Mitaka looked mortified. “I’m sorry! They didn’t look-” But his reply choked off as Hux’s glare bore into him.

“Just go out front! I don’t want to deal with you right now.” Once Mitaka had fled and closed the gate behind him, Hux muttered, “To think he honestly wants to be a Lead,” and shook his head.

Rey and Kylo moved to Main Console, where Poe was on the ride's phone and writing frantically onto a clipboard. Rey showed Kylo how to properly tag out*, and they headed into the actual ride together. They made their way up two steep flights of stairs and down a narrow catwalk.

Kylo surveyed the ride as they went. Literally everything was painted the same pale shade of blue, and it made the track, stairs, and walkways indistinguishable from one another. Ahead of them was a red vehicle full of guests.

“Hello, everyone!” Rey greeted cheerfully. “I’m Rey and this is Ben,” she motioned over her shoulder at him, “And we’re here to save you!” She laughed brightly, and Kylo could feel the guests’ relief. Rey made everything seem so effortless. “First thing, does anyone feel claustrophobic or have a fear of heights?”

The guests shook their heads.

“Great!” Rey explained the evacuation procedure to the guests, then returned her attention to Kylo. “Do you remember which brake zone this is?”

Kylo looked around and counted down the brake zones from the top. “Five?”

“Good job! What did the operating guide say to do next?”

Kylo mentally sifted through the pages and pages he was forced to read until he remembered. “We need to call main console and tell them our vehicle number.”

“Excellent! I’ll let you take care of that.”

The evacuation went very well, though Kylo was convinced it was entirely because Rey was helping him. Once the guests had been safely returned to solid ground, Hux cornered them again.

“How’d your trainee do?”

Could the man honestly not be bothered to learn his name (even if he hated it himself)?

“He did great! He’s a natural.”

Hux tutted. “I’ll believe it when he does it alone.”

Kylo was fuming. Wasn’t he allowed even one victory?

Hux must have sensed his mood and surveyed him for a moment. “Fix your belt.”

Kylo looked down to see the end had popped free of its belt loop. He was consumed by a burning desire to throw Hux onto the tracks, but settled for gripping the railing until his knuckles turned white.

Finally, this first training shift came to an end. Once they had clocked out, Rey walked with Kylo across the park to the exit.

“Despite how you might feel about Hux or yourself, you did a good job today. I have no doubt you’ll pass on Thursday.”

“... Thank you.” Kylo still didn’t believe her, and he really wasn’t sure he even wanted to pass, especially if it meant having to work with Hux in any capacity. That guy was a raging asshole.

~*~

Kylo came in way earlier than he ever wanted to the next day; he had to learn the opening procedures for the attraction. The checklist was long and tedious, but Rey bemoaned how bad it used to be before Hux put everything in a more reasonable order. It was one of the better changes he brought to their little coaster, apparently.

After “lunch,” which took place at ten in the morning (and that was just wrong), Rey made Kylo read more of the operating manual. This time he legitimately fell asleep for five minutes before Rey realized he wasn’t just intently reading one particular section. Kylo flushed with embarrassment, but this was the most boring thing he’d ever been forced to do in his life.

When they returned to the attraction, Hux gave Kylo another scrutinizing glare. “Your vest is indescribably wrinkled. Did you sleep in it?” Well, he could apparently be bitterly sarcastic, too.

Actually, Kylo had balled up his vest and angrily thrown it into the trunk of his car the previous day, so it was definitely wrinkled, but did anyone honestly care?

“I have half a mind to send you to Costuming,” Hux added.

Rey groaned and put her hands on her face. “Oh my god, can I please just finish my training? I swear he won’t look like this tomorrow!”

Kylo’s nostrils flared in rage. Like hell he would; he wanted to put the whole costume in a shredder. He leaned in close to Hux, who stood his ground, and whispered low and dangerously, “You need to pull that stick out of your ass.”

Hux’s eyes narrowed into slits. “I dislike you, trainee,” he hissed back; low enough that even Rey couldn’t hear, “And I swear to you, I will get you fired.”

“We’ll see about that.”

The two men continued to glare at each other, so close they were basically sharing breath, until Rey loudly cleared her throat.

“If we can pause the testosterone contest for a bit, we have work to do.”

Hux stepped back. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you,” he threatened and walked away.

Kylo decided to channel his rage into doing his fucking best for the rest of his training. He had inherited his father’s stubbornness, and now it was his sole mission to get signed off on this ride so he could make Hux’s life a living hell.

~*~

Miraculously, Kylo did get signed off to work the coaster. Finn had performed the PA, offering a few suggestions, but mostly standing back and watching Kylo handle each position by himself. Kylo answered all of his questions with only an occasional prompting, and Finn grinned as he checked off the answers on his clipboard.

When they went backstage, Rey’s hands were clutching her face in anticipation. “Did he pass?”

Finn smiled and nodded. “Yep! Yet another awesomely trained cast member! You’re the best teacher ever!”

Even now, the victory didn’t belong to Kylo. He wanted to set everything on fire.

Rey jumped up and down in excitement. “Welcome to Goofy’s, Ben!”

~*~

His first few shifts were interesting, to say the least. He met several more cast members, like Snap and Jess, but they must have heard the stories because they didn’t seem terribly enthusiastic to have him there.

Kylo mostly kept to himself, focusing on the job at hand. He also watched his fellow cast members, trying to get a feel for them. Rey continued to be ridiculously kind, especially to children; she could soothe any crying child with the stickers she kept plentiful in her pockets. But she also had a bit of a dark side; god help any guest that crossed her, especially when it came to their safety. At unload, a man disembarked, but did not continue across the yellow line, instead standing on the very edge of the platform to watch the second half of his party as they came into the station.

“Sir, please move back,” Rey called sweetly. When the man did not respond to her after several attempts, Rey came up behind him and barked, “Sir! Move back behind the yellow line!”

Kylo may have flinched. She was small, but she was terrifying.

The guest sheepishly moved to where she was pointing, and a bright smile lit up Rey’s face. “Thank you so much!”

_Terrifying._

Poe was handsome and charming and absolutely awful. He was always dancing, especially at unload. The guests loved it; some even joined in. He incorporated his spiels into the dancing, waving his arms in the direction he wanted guests to go. It was ridiculous, but effective. He also had a tendency to call everyone “buddy.” He even called Kylo “buddy,” which didn’t please Kylo at all because he wasn’t sure Poe even knew what else to call him.

Finn was chatty. He loved talking to guests, which baffled Kylo, but Finn acted as if he wanted to know every guest’s life story. He chatted endlessly in the non-safety positions, and even when at grouper*, he’d manage to tell jokes while loading the guests that always had them in an uproar. At main console, he’d wave at every vehicle as it passed.

How did these people have the energy to be this goddamn friendly all the time?

And then, of course, there was Hux, who was constantly in the station with his clipboard, surveying his cast members’ performances. It put Kylo on edge, especially because Hux never hesitated to criticize him. The only other person who had it worse was Mitaka, but Mitaka was usually fucking up. Like the time Mitaka didn’t reset the station fast enough after a trip wire*, and the ride faulted into an auto cycle out*. Kylo was certain Mitaka was going to burst into flames under Hux’s furious glare.

Mitaka also had a tendency to let guests bully him around. Whenever a guest argued to bring a drink onto the ride, Kylo would stare at them until they relented and threw it away. Whenever faced with an angry guest who “just bought this drink” and “didn’t see any signs about this,” Mitaka would meekly offer to hold it for them until they got off the ride.

Kylo was bringing order back to the single rider line when he witnessed one such exchange. Mitaka was awkwardly gesturing with a styrofoam cup as he continued to direct guests into the vehicles. Hux marched up behind him and snatched the drink from his hand, causing Mitaka to flinch.

“How many times must I tell you? Do not hold drinks for the guests,” Hux coached as he tossed the cup into a trashcan.

Kylo was certain he was going to witness Hux blowing up further at Mitaka, but Hux simply waited at the handrail until the guest whose drink he had just tossed came back into the station.

“Sir, for future reference, my cast members are not cup holders, and you will do as they ask. I have no idea why you thought you could bring a full cup of hot coffee onto a roller coaster,” Hux sneered, then retreated back to his corner.

Kylo didn’t realize he was staring until Hux turned to him. “You have fastpasses waiting.”

Kylo looked behind himself to find a sea of people headed up the wrong ramp. “Shit,” he muttered. As he corralled the guests back into their proper place, he reflected on what just happened. Hux stood up for Mitaka. He was an asshole about it, but maybe he really was just looking out for them. He was still seriously an asshole, though.

~*~

“You have ruined my family’s vacation!” The guest was a balding, sunburned, middle-aged man. He and his family all wore matching Donald Duck shirts.

Kylo sighed as he continued to lean on the measuring pole, looking thoroughly unimpressed. The child was simply too short to ride. “Do you want your kid to fall out and die?”

The man was taken aback.

“Isn’t this supposed to be the happiest place on earth?” his wife shrilled.

“Do you know how much I paid to come here?” he added furiously.

“Too much?” Kylo drawled. When he noticed Hux bristling at the exit, his back straightened instantly, his hands slipping out of his pockets, but it was too late.

“Ben, please go backstage for a moment,” Hux ordered, his rage carefully contained.

Kylo hated Hux. He hated how he could feel the anger radiating off of him, but outside he was so fucking poised and put together, even managing to make that stupid hat look good. Kylo let out a frustrated grunt and walked back past the fastpass machines. He heard the beginnings of Hux graciously apologizing to the family and offering compensation for his cast member’s bad attitude. Once backstage, Kylo angrily kicked the trash cans onto the access road. He was about to thrash the water cooler when Hux came through the backstage door, all calm pretext gone.

Hux took in the rolling trash cans and Kylo with the water cooler half way off the ground, then slammed the door behind him. “Pick those up. Now.”

Kylo rolled his eyes, but he set the cooler down and retrieved the trash cans from the road.

“I’ve always tried to give my employees the benefit of the doubt, but you are by far the most sullen cast member I’ve ever worked with.”

“I’m not your employee,” Kylo muttered.

“Unfortunately. If you were, I’d probably have fired you by now, but management apparently sees something of value in your employment here,” Hux seethed. “So it’s up to me to deal with your terrible moods.”

“They were harassing me about the height requirement!” Kylo growled bitterly. “As if I have any power over that …”

Hux deflated a bit. “Look, I know guests can be … difficult, but it’s our job to offer alternatives so they can make the best out of their visit.” He eyed Kylo for several awkwardly quiet moments.

“... What?” Kylo’s eyes drifted to the ground.

“I’m not asking you to bend over backwards for every guest. Just try not to piss them off so much that they come screaming to me,” Hux sighed, clearly just as tired of entitled guests as Kylo was. “You’re decent enough at running the attraction; you just need to work on your attitude.”

Kylo huffed indignantly, but he knew Hux wasn’t asking too much of him. “I’ll .. try,” he bit out, still trying to shake off the last of his anger.

“Thank you, Ben,” Hux replied as he logged onto the work computer kept behind the attraction.

Kylo visibly blanched at the mention of his name.

Hux must have seen it out of his periphery because he turned slowly to look at Kylo. “Are you … alright?”

Kylo hated himself for bringing attention to his name. He was silent as he thought of how to explain himself. “They wouldn’t let me change it,” he admitted.

“Change what? Your name?” Hux was giving him his full attention, and Kylo didn’t know if he wanted to run or not.

“Legal names only, they said,” he explained, his eyes on the ground.

“Do you not like your name?”

Kylo shook his head. “I have bad … associations, memories …” He didn’t feel like explaining further.

“Well, I can’t do anything about your name tag, but I can at least call you … whatever you’d prefer,” Hux replied.

Kylo looked up then, finally meeting Hux’s eyes directly. No one had bothered to ask him what he’d prefer to be called until this moment. “Kylo,” he murmured.

“Kylo? Alright, I can call you that.” Hux pulled out a small notepad from his pocket and jotted down a note to himself, then looked back up. “The coaster makes you nervous, doesn’t it?”

If it had been any other moment, or any other person, Kylo would never have admitted it, but he couldn’t stop the word coming out of his mouth. “Yes.”

Hux nodded. He turned again to the computer, typing for a moment before printing a slip and presenting it to Kylo. “Enjoy your break, Kylo. And give yourself time; everyone’s nervous at first.”

[](http://s1381.photobucket.com/user/courtney_potter2/media/tumblr_o8907knz441rd8qayo1_540_zps1vvgkw3j.png.html)


	2. Show

Kylo was moping at merge, his second most hated position. As he leaned against the fastpass podium, he could feel the guests’ eyes on him. Rey had suggested that he explain to guests why he made them wait behind the white line, but talking to guests was at the very bottom of Kylo’s to-do list, honestly. He’d take the awkward staring over small talk any day.

The weather was warm in a weird way; not hot enough for heat levels*, but he still felt like he was baking. These ridiculous polyester costumes didn’t breathe at all. He pulled off the hideous yellow newsboy cap he was required to wear and ran a hand through his hair, which was just shy of being too long for Disney look. He’d wait until a manager brought it up before he cut it.

A pair of children suddenly bounded up the ramp and around Kylo’s legs, their parents slowly bringing up the rear, looking absolutely haggard.

“Hey!” Kylo sputtered. “Stop! You’re going the wrong way!”

The parents flagged down their kids, who grumpily returned, not understanding why they weren’t skipping the entire line. Again, Kylo didn’t care to explain. He simply held out an open palm for their fastpasses.

The father stared at him for a moment, before muttering, “Oh!” and digging the passes back out of his wallet, then placing them in Kylo’s hand.

Kylo rolled his eyes and opened the chain that lead back into the final leg of the queue. He never understood why people thought they could keep their fastpasses. As he turned back to the podium, he realized his hat was missing. He suddenly felt a weird pressure on the top of his head and jerked around wildly.

Hux was leaning over the red railing next to main console, reaching over the guests’ heads with the long reach grabber usually reserved for fishing items out of the track, except the pincers currently held Kylo’s missing hat. Hux made another attempt to place it on Kylo’s head. “You know the rules, Kylo! We’ve talked about this!”

Kylo snatched the hat from the grabber, but he couldn’t help the tiny smile that tugged at his lips when Hux used his preferred name.

Hux smiled gratefully when Kylo pulled the cap back on. They had talked about the hat before, many times. It had been one of several points of contention, but things were … evolving. Relaxing.

Kylo had been making slow progress with his attitude. The ride still made him anxious, as did the easy camaraderie of the cast members who knew it so well. The anxiety presented itself in the worst ways, and Hux used to be quick to admonish him at every turn.

Yet in the weeks since the name conversation, things had been improving in degrees, though Kylo was still had a pretty terrible demeanor. He still rarely smiled, he never did more than was directly required of him, and his fellow cast members still found him disconcerting, but Hux gave him some slack and plenty of advice.

Hux, still standing at the railing, nodded at Kylo, his eyes focused behind Kylo’s head. Kylo turned to find another fastpass group, this one patiently waiting behind the white line. Kylo nearly smiled at them in gratitude. Nearly.

~*~

It was the slow season, and Kylo had more days off than he was used to. During these frequent breaks, Kylo enjoyed painting his nails different, usually dark, colors. The “Disney Look” forbade nail polish on men, let alone the odd colors Kylo favored, so he enjoyed it while he could.

It would only stand to reason that he would eventually forget to remove the polish before returning to work. Kylo was standing at the computer terminal, waiting to clock in, when Hux leaned in next to him.

“Good afternoon, Kylo-” His eyes fell upon Kylo’s fingers as they were poised over the keyboard. “Are your nails … green?”

Kylo immediately froze, an ugly panic welling up inside him. Was Hux going to send him to a manager? That Snoke guy was so creepy, and Kylo really didn’t want another coaching.

But Hux mostly seemed interested in the particular shade of Kylo’s nails. He gingerly picked up Kylo’s hand, looking to Kylo for permission, which Kylo gave with a small nod. “What color is that? Its looks like a beetle.”

“Its iridescent,” Kylo explained, staring at where his hand was held by Hux.

“Its nice,” Hux smiled. “Unfortunately, it has to come off, but I have some polish remover in the cabinet.” He lead Kylo to the large supply cabinet near the maintenance bay and handed him the bottle and some cotton balls. “Just clock in when you’re done; I’ll adjust it.”

Kylo had no idea how to react. No one had been this … patient with him before. His heightened mood was definitely noticed by his fellow cast members once he was on the clock and in rotation*.

While Kylo was at grouper, actually making eye contact with guests, Rey looked across the trough at Finn, her eyes huge as if to broadcast _Do you see what I’m seeing?_

Finn shrugged, having absolutely no idea how to process what was happening.

Once Rey dispatched the next vehicle, she jogged over to main console, where Poe was currently positioned. “I’ve never seen Ben like this!” she whispered excitedly.

Poe nodded. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the guy smile before. Look!”

Rey whipped around, but Kylo’s expression remained neutral. She swatted Poe’s arm as he laughed, then ran back to her station to check the lap bars in the next vehicle. “You know what’s more fun than pulling down your laps bars?” she asked the guests brightly. “Pushing up on your lap bars!”

The guests laughed as they pushed up; Kylo rolled his eyes at the lame joke, but he chuckled quietly to himself.

After his first break, Kylo was assigned to main console; it was probably his favorite position, as long as nothing was going wrong, because it meant he didn’t have to talk to anyone. The only obnoxious part was Mitaka, who was now at dispatch; Mitaka wasn’t the best at loading guests on time, which lead to frequent station pauses, which meant the ride backed up. Each time an alarm went off warning Kylo that another break zone was stopped, he would mutter, “Shut up,” at it while staring dumbfounded at Mitaka. It really wasn’t that hard, even for Kylo.

Hux must have noticed the frequent station pauses and made his way into the station and over to main console, where he stood next to Kylo and kept a watchful eye on Mitaka.

Mitaka could sense this and did his best to load the guests faster, but it only made him more nervous.

Hux sighed dramatically. “Has it been this way the whole time?”

Kylo nodded, leaning against the console in boredom. Hux didn’t mention it this time.

It was an especially hot day in the parks. Kylo had the station fans turned on, and the breeze blew his long hair into his face. He pushed it back with one hand and muttered, “Is it “Disney Look” for men to wear headbands?”

“Afraid not,” Hux replied, glancing over his shoulder at Kylo’s messy hair. “You could just put your hat back on.”

It was currently heat level two, so everyone had removed their hats, vests, and rolled up their sleeves. Everyone, that is, but Hux.

“It’s too hot for that,” Kylo grumbled. He wondered how Hux wasn’t bursting into flames. “Why don’t you ever roll up your sleeves?”

Hux tugged subconsciously on his sleeve cuff. “I don’t mind the heat,” he replied. “Besides, I like wearing the costume as it was designed to be worn.”

Kylo side-eyed his Lead, but didn’t question him further.

Toward the end of the day, Kylo was helping Hux put up the extended queue. They’d used it earlier in the day when the line spilled out the front of their attraction, but the crowds had died down since then. Kylo was folding up the ropes as Hux removed the poles and made sure each hole was plugged with a rubber stopper. While Hux stretched out an arm to replace the next plug, his sleeve pulled up just enough for Kylo to notice the edge of a black circle.

“Is … Is that a tattoo?”

Hux immediately jerked up, tugging his sleeve back down. He was looking everywhere but at Kylo.

“You have to show me!” He grabbed Hux’s arm and pulled him backstage. Hux grumbled in annoyance at the interruption. “Please, I’ve got to see it,” Kylo asked once he was sure they were alone.

Hux sighed, but pulled his sleeve up to his elbow, revealing an intricate solar system made up of thin, simple lines curling up Hux’s forearm. “That's why I don't roll up my sleeves.”

Kylo was mesmerized. “It's beautiful. Does anyone else know?”

Hux blushed, secretly pleased, and shook his head. “And I'd like to keep it that way.” It sounded like a threat, but there was no real bite to it.

Kylo reached out and traced several of the lines before realizing Hux might find that odd, but when he looked up, Hux was simply watching him quietly.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes,” Kylo replied, “But it makes me realize how much I don’t know about you.”

Hux shrugged and pulled his sleeve back down, once again hiding the tattoo. “I have a tendency to keep to myself,” he said matter-of-fact. “Come on, let’s finish putting up the queue.”

The day continued smoothly, and a few hours later, Kylo found himself back at grouper. A grumpy man holding a styrofoam coffee cup arrived at the front of the line with his family. Kylo could tell the cup was full and groaned internally. “Are you done with your beverage,” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“No.”

Kylo grit his teeth. Did this guy really think he could take coffee on a roller coaster? “I’m afraid you’ll have to throw it away.”

“What? Can’t I just put it down over there?” He gestured vaguely at the other side of the track.

“No, you can’t.”

“I don’t understand why I can’t just set it down!”

“It will spill.”

“Do you know how much I paid for this coffee!?”

Kylo didn’t respond. By this point, the station had stopped and everyone was watching their argument.

“Fine, I’ll just put it in my bag!” the man grumbled as he stuffed the flimsy cup into his small backpack.

Kylo knew exactly how that was going to end, but this guy was a jackass, and Kylo didn’t have the energy to fight him. The family boarded and Kylo turned back to the other guests in line, ushering them on, and nearly forgetting about the idiot and his coffee.

A minute and a half later, “It fucking burned me!”

The shout caught everyone’s attention and Kylo turned to see the moron looming over Rey as she attempted to calm him and unload guests at the same time.

“Please step out to your left,” she spieled before turning back to the angry guest. “I’m very sorry, sir. We did ask that you throw it away before you got on.”

“He said it was ok for me to put it in my backpack!”

Kylo rolled his eyes, because he absolutely did not.

“This is your fault!” the man raged, angrily shaking his soaking bag in Kylo’s direction. “You made me spill my coffee, and it fucking burned me! I’ll sue!”

“Sir, please watch your language!” Rey spat, this man now getting on her bad side. “Let me just get my lead to work this out-”

The man let out an enraged snort at the suggestion and stomped up the exit stairs, his pants and bag leaving a thin trail of coffee behind him.

Kylo glanced at Rey, hoping he was silently telegraphing his apologies.

Rey shrugged and returned to spieling to guests as they awkwardly climbed out of the tiny vehicles.

Five minutes later, the man came storming back down the exit stairs, catching Rey by surprise. She hopped quickly out of the way as the man flung his newly fresh and open coffee cup directly at Kylo.

Kylo did his best to dodge, but the scalding liquid still managed to catch his left arm and leg. He hissed as he shook it off.

The man looked absolutely wild as he ran away again.

Finn was already on the ride phone calling for security.

Eyes blazing, Hux ran up the ramp, taking in the wet and pained Kylo. “I’ll takeover. Go rinse off, and I’ll be there soon.”

Kylo jerked his head in acknowledgement, his teeth still grit as he practically ran backstage. Once in the bathroom, he shucked his vest and shirt and ran his forearm under cool water. The skin was pink, but there was no serious damage. He dampened some paper towels to run across his leg, but it was alright, too. Thank god for these thick polyester costumes.

There was a knock on the door, followed by Hux’s voice. “Are you in there, Kylo?”

“Yeah, come in,” Kylo replied, attempting to wipe the coffee off his pant leg, but it was a lost cause. He looked up when he heard the door open to find Hux blushing slightly, but overall looking enraged.

“I’m sorry,” Kylo murmured. “I probably could have handled that better.”

“No, that guy was an asshole,” Hux replied, venom evident in his voice.

Kylo was shocked; he’d never heard Hux curse once since they started working together.

“Are you hurt?” Hux’s eyes surveyed Kylo’s arm.

“No, the fabric took the brunt of it.” He picked his shirt up off the sink and held it up. “I don’t think I can wear this onstage, though,” he chuckled.

Hux’s face snapped up at the small laugh, but he schooled his expression. “Well, we want you looking your best, don’t we?” he replied. “I’ll take you out of rotation so you can go to Costuming and change.”

“Thank you.”

Hux lead Kylo back outside to the lockers. “Security’s on their way to get a statement from you,” he explained while he fished through one of the lockers. “Hopefully, they’ll find that dick and ban him from the parks.” He pulled a t-shirt out of his bag and held it out to Kylo. “Wear this for now. It wouldn’t do to have you in a wet shirt just when the temperature’s starting to drop.” When Kylo hesitated, Hux pushed the shirt into his hand.

Kylo finally accepted the shirt and pulled it on; it was snug, but it was dry.

At that moment, a tall, blonde security cast member came through the backstage door.

“Ah, Phasma!” Hux greeted. “I’m pleased they sent you.”

Phasma smirked and tipped her hat. “No one kicks guests out like I do.” She looked Kylo up and down. “So this is him?” Her eyebrow quirked.

Hux cleared his throat. “Yes, this is the cast member who was just _assaulted_.”

Phasma nodded slyly, readying her clipboard and pen. “Tell me exactly what happened, along with a description of the perpetrator.”

Once she had taken his full statement and radioed the man’s description to her fellow security staff, Phasma left to begin her sweep.

“Take your time going to Costuming,” Hux sighed. “We have enough staff, and I know you’ll probably want to … cool off.”

“Thank you,” Kylo lamely said again, then turned to take the long way backstage to costuming. He didn’t want to accidentally run into that guest again, and the tight t-shirt wasn’t exactly Disney look.

“You handled that well!” Hux called out after him.

Kylo smiled as his grip on his coffee-soaked shirt tightened minutely.


	3. Efficiency

Kylo changing his preferences to match Hux’s shifts had nothing to do with their burgeoning friendship or how much Kylo was starting to enjoy Hux’s company. It was solely a tactical move because Kylo couldn’t stand working with any of the other leads. None of them had the same control over their operation as Hux did; he may rule with an iron fist, but at least things ran smoothly. Plus, none of the other leads were as patient with Kylo and his moods quite like Hux.

If Hux noticed that they were working together more, he didn’t mention it.

At the beginning of the summer peak season, Hux reintroduced power hours; cast members could sign up to work a certain position for an hour. The goal was to get as many people on and off the attraction as possible, and whoever got the highest count at the end of the summer would get a special prize.

It was never Kylo’s goal to go out of his way to do anything, so he ignored the sign up sheets and continued about his job, but Hux had other ideas.

“Why haven’t you signed up for a power hour?” he asked as he stood next to Kylo at main console. It was becoming a bit of a habit for him to hang out in that corner whenever Kylo was there. He said it was so he could keep an eye on the attraction, but he never stood there when it was any other cast member.

Kylo was staring out into the ride, watching for any falling objects; guests had a tendency to ignore their warnings about holding onto their hats and cell phones. “I dunno …” he mumbled. “I don’t see the point, I guess.”

“You can show off how good you are at unload.”

“But … I’m not.”

Hux sighed. “Yes, you are. Besides, it would help me get better hourly counts.”

Kylo deliberated for a moment. “Fine.”

Hux grinned and jotted Kylo’s name on the worksheet on his clipboard. “I’ll go put this in the computer, so you’ll get your assignment when you clock back in.”

Kylo nodded, then added, “Mitaka won’t be doing it, will he?”

Hux actually chuckled. “No, he’ll be at greeter.”

Kylo sighed in relief. If he was going to do this, he might as well do it well.

After 45 minutes of straight unload, Kylo began to regret agreeing to this. He was starting to go stir crazy from saying the same thing over and over, but Hux was watching from his usual perch, and he actually looked proud, so Kylo kept it together. He only had 15 more minutes to go.

Of course, just a few moments later, a guest clambered out of the vehicle bemoaning that they had dropped their backpack inside of the ride. Kylo grit his teeth; dealing with them was going to throw off his rhythm, and if they had to retrieve the item, their count would be ruined. “Did the bag have anything important in it?” he asked, continuing to motion for the other guests to exit their vehicles. “Keys, wallets, medication?”

“No, but my jacket’s in there,” the woman replied as if it were crucial to her enjoyment of the parks.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but we can’t shut down the ride for that. You’ll have to check back at the end of the day.”

“What? But it’s right there!” She walked to the exit stairs and pointed vaguely into the attraction.

Kylo walked over so he could see where she was pointing; the backpack was resting on one of the staircases, not in easy reach at all.

“If we retrieve it, we have to turn the ride off,” Kylo explained, quickly losing his patience. “You'll have to come back later.”

“But it’s right there!” the woman shrilled. “This is absurd.”

“Rey told you to hang onto your things,” Kylo bristled, gesturing toward dispatch. “It’s not going to happen.”

“I demand to see your supervisor!”

Kylo rolled his eyes and looked across the station at Hux, who was watching the woman with an expression of mild irritation. Kylo couldn’t tell if it was directed at him or the guest.

Hux made his way across the vehicles and took the lady to the side so she no longer held up exiting guests. “You’ve lost something in the ride?”

“Yes, my bag! It’s got my wallet! And my keys! I can’t go on without it!” She grinned maliciously at Kylo.

Kylo was livid. Not only was she going to get her way and throw off their count, she was making him look stupid in front of Hux. He balled his hands into fists, but there was nothing he could do. Calling out the guest would just make things worse.

“Please wait in front of the attraction,” Hux told the woman, his voice betraying his irritation. “We’ll bring it out to you as soon as we can.” He watched the woman as she and her group left, ensuring they actually exited.

“She’s lying!” Kylo immediately hissed. “She didn’t tell me any of that-”

“I know,” Hux sighed. “I heard her, but I can’t accuse a guest of lying. We’ll just cycle out, and I’ll have you grab it as quickly as possible.”

Hux went back across to tell the rest of the cast members that they were cycling the attraction out for a lost item. They finished loading the guests that had made it to the top ramp. Once the last guest exited, Kylo tagged out and waited next to the gate, bouncing in anticipation as the vehicles finally stopped in their respective brake zones. As soon as the last one stopped moving, Kylo hopped the gate, dashing across the catwalks, through the sand, and bounding up the stairs. He grabbed the woman’s bag and ran back as quickly as possible. When Hux was in range, he tossed him the bag, then unlocked his tag from the console so they could start the ride back up.

Everyone was staring at him in awe.

“What?” he muttered as he returned to unload.

“That’s the fastest item retrieval I’ve ever seen,” Poe explained.

“That was amazing, Ben!” Rey’s eyes were bright with pride.

Kylo’s shoulders hunched up as he looked down at the concrete. “I just want us to get a good count.”

Once guests started boarding again, Hux returned the bag to the woman, then came back to unload. “That was very impressive.” He pulled a four keys card out of his pocket and filled it out. “This is for you.”

Kylo cautiously took the card. In the several months he had worked at the parks, he’d never received one before. “Thank you,” he murmured as he pocketed it.

“You deserve it.”

Later, once Kylo was backstage, he took out the card to read it. _Great job with the lost item,_ it read, and where Hux had written his legal name, he had added _(Kylo)_. Kylo almost wanted to frame it instead of turning it in.

~*~

Kylo hated grouper. It involved far too much guest interaction, and it was the one position where the most could go wrong. He was constantly dealing with two lines, the standby line and single riders. One would think the phrase “single rider” would be self explanatory, but he was constantly being asked by single riders if they could ride together. He rarely ever responded, just pointing at the seat he needed filled, and turning back to the main line before anyone could argue.

He hated getting groups of five. The easiest solution was to break the party into three and two; it was easier to fill the vehicle and no one had to ride “by themselves” (ie without their family), but people rarely listened. This particular group demanded they be split into four and one.

Kylo loaded the four, then put the one left in the vehicle behind them. He turned to his single rider line, but as he was taking their pass, the original gentleman objected.

“But I want to ride alone.”

Kylo stared at him, then looked out over the overflowing queue. “Too bad.”

The man huffed, but he got on without any further argument and Kylo filled the rest of the vehicle.

The next group included a guest in a motorized scooter, which wasn’t a big deal. Kylo directed them to park the scooter and got them on a vehicle in a timely manner. The trouble started when they were exiting the ride.

There was an elevator for wheelchairs and scooters, but it had to be operated by a cast member; it usually fell to grouper, which meant the person at dispatch had to take over loading guests as well as checking lap bars. It was possible, but it was hectic and the ride could get backed up quickly. So, as long as the fastpass ramp was clear, they tried to send guests down that way, instead of using the elevator. Kylo unloaded the guests, ensured the elderly lady was seated, and directed them back down the ramp, then returned to loading guests.

A few moments later, Finn, who was at unload, got Kylo’s attention and pointed behind him. Kylo turned to find the whole family piled in the unmoving elevator, futilely pushing the buttons inside.

Kylo groaned internally. Why didn’t guests ever just listen to him? He motioned to Rey. “Take over for a sec.”

Rey nodded and moved to load the next group as Kylo grabbed the lift keys and went to help the family.

He used the keys to activate the elevator, explaining, “You don’t have to push any buttons.”

One of the guests immediately pushed in the e-stop.

Kylo grit his teeth as it beeped frantically. “No, please don’t push that.” He reached in and pulled it back out. “I will push all the buttons.”

The guest immediately tried to push the button again, but Kylo slapped his hand over it. “I don’t understand why it’s not working!” they complained.

“I will operate the elevator,” Kylo seethed. Once it finally started its excruciatingly slow descent, Kylo finished spieling. “When the elevator stops, push outward on the door and it will open. Then make sure it’s fully closed behind you.”

Once the elevator stopped at the bottom, the family stared at the door. “Does it open?”

“Just push on it.” Kylo was grinding his teeth at this point.

They pushed on it hesitantly and, viola, it opened just as Kylo said it would. “Close it behind you,” he practically begged, but of course the family did not. Kylo couldn’t operate it unless the door was closed.

He groaned, throwing his head back, and leaned over the railing. “Mitaka. Mitaka!”

Mitaka jumped at his name and looked at Kylo with a mix of fear and confusion.

“The door,” Kylo pointed.

Mitaka ran over and pushed the door closed.

Kylo finally brought the lift back up, returned the key, and took over from Rey. Luckily, Rey was fantastic at her job and everything ran smoothly. Kylo was fairly certain the same could not be said if it had been him.

When a pair of single riders asked if they could ride together, Kylo didn’t trust himself to answer and so ignored them. This was exhausting.

~*~

Merge continued to vex Kylo. It was like herding deranged cats. It didn’t matter how many times he asked guests to stand in a certain spot, the moment he turned around they immediately did the opposite. The single rider line consisted of white boxes for them to stand in, but they always fanned out to fill the entire width of the ramp.

“Stand in the boxes.” He’d help the fastpasses, come back, and they were spread out again. Over and over and over. He had to keep that area clear for several reasons; did he really have to spell it out to each person individually?

He’d ask the standby line to wait so he could keep space for fastpasses, but there was always that one family that decided to keep moving while his back was turned, and the rest of the line would follow them like sheep. Kylo wished he had the power to kick people out, but instead he just had to deal with it.

Whenever he became too frustrated, he’d stalk around the maintenance bay and kick around stray tools. Hux had caught him a few times. At first, he was furious, but eventually he’d come inside and let Kylo complain loudly at him. Hux found the guests as irritating as Kylo did; he was just better at hiding it. It was one of the prime reasons he had moved up in the company.

When Kylo complained about the seemingly able-bodied woman who demanded the vehicle be stopped because she felt climbing into a moving vehicle was “dangerous,” Hux listened quietly, then added, “Not all disabilities are visible. It’s always best to take their word for it.”

Kylo grew silent. He knew Hux was right; he just wished the woman hadn’t been so mean about it. Even just a few weeks ago, he’d have scoffed at Hux and been absolutely fuming at being corrected, but now he silently absorbed the lesson.

Suddenly, the ride phone beeped loudly. Hux answered it, then sighed heavily. “I’ll be right there.”

Kylo looked up from his perch on a toolbox. “What is it?”

“Code V.” Hux’s nose wrinkled in disgust. “Will you help me with it?”

Kylo appreciated being asked instead of ordered. “Yeah.”

When they entered the station, they were absolutely horrified by what they saw. Vomit covered nearly every inch of floor at unload; a little had made it onto the walls as well. There was enough space for guests to make it to the stairs without stepping in it, but the whole area reeked.

Snap was quickly turning green as he directed guests out, using his body to shield them from the worst of it.

Kylo grabbed a stack of pro-towels, a thicker, more absorbent type of paper towel, and then joined Hux as he crossed to help Snap.

“Have you called custodial?” Hux asked as he laid the towels over the worst puddles.

Snap nodded woosily.

“What happened?”

“A kid-” Snap retched in his throat, but shook his head before anything happened. “A kid got out of the vehicle, and …” He grew paler as he remembered the incident.

“Go out front,” Hux sighed. “We’ll take care of this. Just direct custodial up here when they arrive.”

Snap nodded gratefully and took off as quickly as he could.

“This is horrifying,” Kylo muttered as he directed guests in Snap’s place.

“It’s not the worst I’ve ever seen,” Hux replied, “But it’s pretty bad.”

Once custodial arrived, they stopped the ride for several minutes while the area was cleaned and sanitized. Rey spieled from main console that it was only a temporary delay. Snap warily peaked around the railing to see if it was clean, and once he was certain, returned to take over unload.

Kylo followed Hux backstage. Hux immediately slathered his hands in sanitizer. “I know I didn’t actually touch it, but this makes me feel better anyway.”

Kylo smiled softly at this ridiculous person he was starting to become very fond of.


	4. Courtesy

When Hux called out sick one day, Kylo flipped. According to Rey, Hux only ever called out when he was practically dying. So not only was Kylo worried that Hux was wasting away in his home, wherever that was, his routine was completely thrown off. It was going to be a long day.

Kylo wasn’t a big fan of the other leads. None of them had the same control over the attraction that Hux did; some of them didn’t seem to care at all. And of course, none of them worked with Kylo like Hux did. Hell, they didn’t understand him and they certainly weren’t going to try.

Kylo managed to get stuck in a constant rotational loop of grouper and merge. He clocked in, got grouper's break, eventually went to merge, then had to clock back in, and got grouper’s break again. It was his worst nightmare.

During his third time at merge, Kylo was leaning against the fastpass box. He had stopped a teenage couple at the white line while he waited for more fastpass guests, and the two decided to make out in full view of Kylo, the rest of the line, and plenty of children. Kylo wished this were a rare occurrence, but he had been subjected to far too much PDA at this job. He turned away from the offending couple and stared into the attraction, desperately trying to drown out the noises they were making.

When he finally managed to get assigned to a different position, his day just continued to go poorly.

“Sir? Sir! Why aren’t these locking!?”

Kylo stared down at the vehicle as it made its way slowly through the station. The middle-aged woman in question was leaning over the seat in front of her, relentlessly opening and closing her child’s lap bar. Kylo sighed heavily. She was the 3rd parent to do this just this rotation. “The lap bars will lock in a moment,” he sighed, not even trying to hide his boredom.

The woman did not sit, but simply held the lap bar closed over her son’s lap.

Kylo rolled his eyes. As the vehicle neared the sensor, he spieled, “Please keep your knees together when you bring your lap bars down.” Of course the husband didn’t pay attention and closed the lap bar on top of his leg. He yelped when his wife pulled down her own lap bar, slamming it into his knee.

“I’m going to open the lap bars,” Kylo explained, desperately trying to keep the frustration out of his voice. He reached over to his console and toggled the lap bar switch.

As soon as the lap bars released, the woman panicked. “Why are these open? Oh my god, this is so dangerous!” She immediately stood back up and began slamming the lap bar onto her son’s lap again.

Kylo ignored her and turned his attention to the man. “Sir, both of your legs need to be on this side of the bar.”

The man ignored him, more concerned with situating his backpack awkwardly between his legs.

“Sir, please move your leg to the other side of the bar,” Kylo ground out.

Still no response from the guest verbally or physically. At this point, the ride had come to a stop because Kylo hadn’t dispatched in time. He could feel Rey and Finn’s eyes on him as they assured the other guests it would just be a moment. He could also hear the alarms from main console signalling that the ride was backing up.

Kylo leaned into the man’s space, his eye twitching with barely controlled rage. “If you don’t put your knees together, the lap bar _will_ break your leg.”

Finally, the man huffed indignantly. “Would you give me a moment! I’m trying, but these cars are so damn small!”

Kylo wanted to scream. The guy could’ve at least acknowledged him. Once the man was situated correctly, Kylo twisted the lock button on his console, vaguely checked the lap bars, slamming the one in the empty seat down, then hit dispatch. He didn’t want to be there when the family came back into the station.

Rey eyed him warily as they both pressed the unpause buttons on their consoles, then returned to cheerfully greeting guests as they unloaded. How could she be so damn cheerful, especially when guests were so difficult all the time?

At that moment, Poe bounced over with a slip of paper. Kylo’s break, thank god. He flinched when Poe slapped his shoulder and told him to enjoy his break. As he headed down the stairs, he made eye contact with a manager who was headed straight for him. Kylo panicked internally, wondering what he had done wrong this time, and how many coachings it would take before he was finally fired.

But the manager breezed past him with a smile and headed up the stairs. Kylo watched as the manager took Rey aside and handed her yet another guest compliment. Kylo nearly boiled over with envy and guilt and rage. He had yet to receive even one, and he’d never admit it, but it made him feel like shit.

Kylo openly grimaced. He just couldn’t catch a break.

~*~

During his break, Kylo asked the other cast members if they knew Hux's contact info, but most just looked at him like he was crazy and shrugged. Rey told him no one had his number, and she was pretty sure he didn't even have a facebook.

Of fucking course, Hux was one of those people. Kylo spent the rest of his break sitting on the curb, dejectedly scrolling through his phone.

~*~

Courtesy was definitely one of Kylo’s weakest areas. Being courteous meant being nice, even when the guests were being absurd or rude or telling him the same joke he’s heard 100 times a day since he started. While at greeter, a group of teenagers passed by him, headed toward the queue’s entrance. One of them, a guy about as tall as Kylo, spotted the height checker and squatted so he was beneath it.

“Oh no! I’m not tall enough to ride!” He laughed like a hyena, his friends laughing along with him.

Kylo rolled his eyes. Did he really think he was the first person to make that joke?

Finn, of course, busted a gut like it was the funniest thing he’d ever seen. The teenager high-fived him and then joined his friends in line.

“Doesn’t it get old?” Kylo muttered.

“Doesn’t what get old?” Finn continued to grin widely. Kylo had never seen him without a smile on his face.

“Pretending to find their asinine jokes funny.”

Finn shrugged. “It was funny! I like the guests; they make me laugh. This is the happiest place on earth, right?”

Kylo’s eye may have twitched a bit at Finn’s response. He turned to scan a FLIK card* and noticed a man placing his young daughter on one of the red railings. “Get down!” he called out harshly.

The man startled, then grumbled as he set his daughter back on the ground. “You could be nicer about it, you know?”

“It’s dangerous,” Kylo scoffed, wondering why this man was arguing with him over something so trivial.

“He’s kinda right, though,” Finn chimed in.

Kylo turned on him, sneering in anger. “I’m not the one putting my kid on the railings!”

Finn just shrugged and left to clock back in.

A middle-aged woman approached Kylo, her young children trailing around her feet. They were definitely too short, and Kylo braced himself for a tantrum, whether from the kids or the mom. “Where’s the castle?”

“Excuse me?” Kylo was incredulous.

“Isn’t there supposed to be a castle? We’ve walked through this whole park, and we haven’t seen it.”

Kylo took a moment to collect himself. “The castle is in Disneyland.”

“I thought this was Disneyland.” The woman looked genuinely lost.

Kylo took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You are currently in California Adventure. It’s a separate park.” Who doesn’t research these things before dropping so much money to come?

“Oh …” She contemplated his answer for a moment. “So where is the other park?”

Kylo was screaming internally. The woman literally walked past Disneyland to get into DCA. There was no way this was happening. It must be a cruel prank. He grit his teeth and replied, “Go back to the entrance, leave, and walk straight across the esplanade.”

“Will we need a separate ticket?”

“... Yes.”

“Can you help us with that?”

“No.”

The woman immediately became disgruntled, like any of this was Kylo’s fault. “Well, you aren’t being very helpful!”

Thankfully (though not really), another guest approached Kylo at that moment, and he turned his attention away from the grumbling woman.

“You must help me! My son is lost!” she wailed.

Fucking great, this is exactly what Kylo needed right now. He steeled himself to deal with this situation. “Can you describe him to me?”

“His name is Robert, he’s wearing a Spiderman shirt and jeans, he has blond hair …” She trailed off, choking back a sob.

“Where did you last see him?”

“He went to ride Screamin’. I didn’t go on because I don’t like roller coasters, but I couldn’t find him afterward.”

This rang an alarm in Kylo’s head. “How old is he?”

“He’s 15,” the lady sobbed.

Kylo was taken aback, but he schooled his features before he made a disbelieving face. “Does he have special needs?”

“What?” the lady looked shocked. “No!”

Now Kylo arched his brow in disbelief. “Your 15 year old son, who has no special needs, took off on you … And what exactly do you want me to do?”

“Help me find him!” She was starting to become irate. “Call security or something! What if he leaves? Or gets kidnapped?”

Kylo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “He is more than old enough to be in the park by himself. There is literally nothing I can do for you.”

The lady scoffed in disgust. “I am an annual passholder! I can’t believe I’m being treated like this!”

Kylo shrugged. He knew security wouldn’t come out for this, and he certainly wasn’t going to wander away from his attraction to find a teenage boy who probably ran from this woman at top speed; Kylo envied him.

The lady stomped her feet in frustration and stalked off.

Kylo breathed a sigh of relief when Finn returned with rotation.

~*~

Kylo had the next few days off, but when he returned, Hux was back as well. He couldn’t help the relief that washed over him, but he kept it hidden. “You’re back,” he said lamely.

Hux looked up from the keyboard. “Yes, I am.” Then he returned his attention to the computer.

Kylo waited awkwardly for an explanation, but it didn’t come. “Is everything ok?”

“It was just a cold,” he replied as he studied his labor graph for that day. “Nothing to fret over.”

Kylo awkwardly shoved his hands in his pockets. He had been worried, but it had been futile, and he had no idea how to articulate this at all. “Maybe if I had your number, I could’ve checked on you …” he mumbled under his breath.

Hux finally turned his attention fully to Kylo. “What was that?”

“I just …” He took a breath to compose himself. “I had no idea where you were, or if you were ok, and I … I was worried. And things weren’t the same without you here.”

Hux seemed surprised, but then he smiled a bit. “You’re probably the first cast member to ever feel that way.”

Kylo stared at the ground between their feet.

“Fine, I’ll give you my number. Just so you don’t freak out again.”

“I did not freak out!” Kylo huffed indignantly.

“That’s not what Rey said,” Hux chuckled.

Kylo knew he couldn’t trust her, but then Hux was jotting his number on a slip of paper and holding it out to Kylo. Kylo took it gingerly and slipped it into his pocket.

“Don’t you dare give it to anyone else,” Hux threatened jokingly, though Kylo got the sense that he meant it.

“You’ll never believe what happened with this one guest.” Hux was the only one who would commiserate with Kylo over that incident.

“Oh?” Hux cocked an eyebrow in interest.

“This woman demanded I help her find her 15 year old son.”

Hux looked dumbfounded. “Did he have special needs?” he asked.

“No! Just a teenager that didn’t want to be around his overbearing mother!”

“Good lord,” Hux muttered. “Guests never fail to surprise me. Every time I think I’ve seen it all, they do something even more ridiculous.” He chuckled, shaking his head.

Kylo smiled to hear Hux’s laugh. “Are you feeling better?”

“Mostly,” Hux sighed. “I should probably be drinking more fluids.”

“I’ll buy you some juice!” Kylo spluttered, flushing at his own enthusiasm.

Hux seemed surprised, too. “You don’t have to-”

“I want to,” Kylo interrupted. “I’ll be right back.” Before Hux could protest further, he hurried along the access road to the break area with vending machines, pulling out some change, and purchasing a bottle of orange juice. When he returned, he handed it eagerly to Hux.

“Thank you, Kylo.” Hux cracked the seal and gulped the juice greedily, sighing once he swallowed. “Ok, I really needed that.”

Kylo grinned widely.

Hux looked up from the bottle and flushed at Kylo’s smile. “We, uh … We should get back to work.”

Kylo nodded, smiling softly as he returned to his position. He was glad he could help Hux feel better. Even if it was just a little bit.


	5. Safety

Kylo began texting Hux regularly. He was nervous at first, and made up a ridiculous question as an excuse. But Hux had answered the silly question genuinely, then kept texting Kylo, and it was quickly becoming a daily routine. They didn’t really have much in common; their tastes in music and movies were quite different, but it didn’t impede them in any way, and they were learning a lot more about each other.

They tried to keep their conversations geared away from work related subjects, but occasionally Kylo would offer suggestions on how to run things more safely. Honestly, it was just so he didn’t have to worry as much. Hux appreciated his suggestions and wanted Kylo to join Goofy’s safety team, but Kylo refused to take any more responsibility on than he already had (which wasn’t much, honestly).

Several of their fellow cast members had noticed the change in their dynamic, none more so than Rey. She started to get starry-eyed whenever she saw them talking to each other, and Kylo had caught her on more than one occasion watching them from afar. He would scowl at her, but she’d just giggle. It weirded him out.

But everyone definitely noticed the shift in Hux’s demeanor. He had definitely become more relaxed since Kylo joined the attraction. Now he was only performing audits* once a week instead of every day. No one knew how Kylo had this effect on him, but they began to regard Kylo with more friendliness. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

Hux’s relaxed attitude was put to the test one day when Kylo was at unload. A little girl and her mother disembarked one of the vehicles. The mother made her way toward the exit stairs, but the little girl took off toward the short gate that lead into the actual ride.

Kylo barely had time to react, yelling, “No, no, no, no!” as he slapped blindly behind him for the e-stop.

Luckily, the woman caught her daughter before she could launch herself over the gate.

Kylo stood with his hand over the e-stop, having been just about to press it, heaving deep breaths as he willed himself to calm down. The little girl could have been seriously injured.

“Sorry about that,” the mother laughed, picking up the little girl. “You know how kids are.”

Kylo shook his head, finally managing to focus his eyes on the mother. “No, that was actually really dangerous. You need to keep a better eye on her.”

The mother grimaced at the reprimand and departed quickly.

Kylo realized Hux was on the other side watching the entire scenario play out, and was momentarily frozen with fear. When he finally worked up the courage to look up at Hux, he was surprised to find him smiling.

“Good job,” he called across the station. “You handled that very well!”

The adrenaline was still coursing through Kylo, but he enjoyed his victory.

~*~

It didn’t rain often in southern California, but when it did, it usually wreaked havoc on the rides. Most of them just weren’t built to deal with wet conditions. Technically, Goofy’s ran fine in the rain, but it had some quirks that made dispatching the vehicles nearly impossible, so when it rained, the attraction went down pretty quickly.

Today was one of those days. The ride had only been open a few hours before they were forced to close it. Luckily, Hux had made the call before anyone got stuck. Evacing the ride in the rain was a particular pain in the ass that no one, not even Rey, wanted to deal with.

Kylo and Hux stood in front of the coaster telling guests that they were closed. Many guests from more rainy parts of the country were confused and angry about “just a little rain” shutting down most of the park.

Kylo would just shrug and reply, “It never rains here.” When they demanded more answers, he’d reply, “I didn’t design the rides.”

Hux chuckled at his response once the guest had wandered off. “I really shouldn’t be encouraging this kind of guest interaction.”

“What else should I say?” Kylo muttered, hating how warm the rain gear made him feel.

Hux shrugged. “It’s fine. I don’t know what they expect.”

Kylo looked up and watched the rain drip from the trees. He was glad his raincoat had a hood. He looked over at Hux and belatedly realized his did not, so Hux's hat was his only protection, but the fabric was quickly soaking through. “Where’s your hood?”

Hux sighed heavily. “Costuming ran out of hoods by the time I picked up my rain gear. It’s fine, though; I have my hat.”

“Your hat’s not helping. You’re going to get sick again.” He reached up and unsnapped his hood from his collar, then loomed over Hux with it.

“What are you doing?” Hux demanded as Kylo reached over his head to situate the hood.

“I can’t stand the other leads,” he muttered as he concentrated on snapping the hood into place. “You don’t get to be sick as long as I’m around.” He tugged the hood over Hux’s head and stepped back to inspect his work.

Hux looked disgruntled, but obviously grateful. Kylo became distracted by the water droplets forming on Hux’s delicate eyelashes, but then someone was calling over to them from the station.

“Hey, boss!” Poe yelled from the railing. “Maintenance gave us the all clear!”

“What?” Hux was incredulous. It was still steadily drizzling; there was no way the ride was ready to operate.

Kylo followed Hux into the station. The maintenance crew was filing down the stairs into the maintenance bay. Hux stopped their manager before he could leave.

“Are you certain we should run it?”

The man shrugged. “There’s technically nothing wrong with it.”

Hux narrowed his eyes. “But the vehicles won’t dispatch, and the ride will fault.”

The manager looked at the awning, then down at the dispatch tire. “Its covered; it should be fine.”

Kylo could see the tension building in Hux’s shoulders as he watched maintenance leave.

“We’ll run some test cycles. I’m not letting any guests on until I know for a fact it won’t fault out.”

Kylo helped lock the lap bars as they dispatched the vehicles. The first vehicle barely made it over the tire, and each subsequent dispatch was more and more sluggish until finally one vehicle stopped on top of the tire, and the alarms started blaring.

Hux rolled his eyes. “I told them this would happen.”

“At least there wasn’t anyone on the ride,” Kylo said. “That’s why you’re the best lead.”

Hux smiled softly at the compliment.

Rey looked between the two of them, her eyes like saucers, then turned to Poe, who wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

~*~

That weekend, Hux was the lead for the closing shift, and Kylo was the hard closer, which meant he and Hux would be the last to leave. Kylo was excited and nervous. Despite their growing friendship and the lengthy text conversations, they had never gotten the opportunity to hang out by themselves.

Once all of the lost and found items had been retrieved, and the vehicles moved to the maintenance bay, the rest of the closers clocked out backstage. Hux was typing hurriedly on his end of day paperwork.

“I’ve unlocked you, Kylo,” he called over his shoulder. “You can clock out anywhere you like.”

Kylo felt a bit disappointed. “Oh, I was hoping I could just … hang out with you until I clocked out.”

Hux grinned down at the keyboard and laughed to himself.

“What?” Kylo suddenly felt self-conscious.

Hux shook his head and looked up at him. “I just remember when you first trained here … We couldn’t stand each other.”

“I was an asshole,” Kylo murmured sheepishly.

“No, you were nervous. I was the asshole.”

“That’s not true-”

“It is,” Hux interrupted. “None of the cast members liked me, especially as a lead. But I like to think I’ve made progress, and it’s really thanks to you.”

Kylo was taken aback. He had no idea how to respond to that. He had never been told he made someone a better person before. It was a lot to take in.

Hux bit his lip. “There’s not really any rules against it, but I still feel like I’m breaching some kind of policy by asking this …”

Kylo sucked in a breath, suddenly filled with hope.

“Would you like to go out with me?”

Kylo desperately wanted to keep cool, but he nodded his head way too enthusiastically. “Yes.”

Hux grinned again. “Come with me. I want to show you something.” He lead Kylo onstage and back into the station, where he had them both tag out.

“Where are you taking us?”

“It’s a surprise.” Hux lead him across the transfer table and up the lift stairs. As they reached the top, a huge boom caused Kylo to flinch, but once he recovered, he realized they had a perfect view of the fireworks from up here.

Kylo startled again when he felt Hux’s hand slip into his, but then he grasped it tight. Hux smiled softly at him, and before Kylo could stop himself, he was leaning in to press a kiss against Hux’s soft, pink lips. He was relieved when Hux didn’t hesitate at all, returning the kiss fervently. Soon his hands wound into Kylo’s hair, knocking his stupid hat off. Kylo didn’t care where it landed.

They made out on the catwalk for several minutes while the fireworks show finished up. Kylo felt like it was a pretty solid first kiss, and smiled against Hux’s lips.

“Goddammit, you two!”

The shout startled them out of the kiss. They looked back down the lift to see Phasma standing at the edge of the station, her arms crossed in frustration.

Hux laughed and lead Kylo back down the stairs. “What are you still doing here?”

“I was going to walk you out of the park, but it looks like you’ve already found a date.” She sounded stern, but she was clearly just giving Hux a hard time for laughs.

Hux shook his head, but he was smiling. “You act like you’re my mother.”

Phasma clutched her chest in mock indignation. “Excuse me? Just how old do you think I am?”

“You want to go to Denny’s with us?” Hux asked.

“Sure,” Phasma shrugged. “I can finally get to know this guy you’ve been going on and on about for weeks.”

Hux flushed at that reveal, but Kylo was too distracted by the fact that Hux was taking him out after work. Many cast members went out to eat together after their shifts, but no one had ever invited Kylo before. This night was getting better and better.

They all clocked out, grabbed their belongings from the lockers, and walked out of the desolate park, now populated only by night shift crews of machinists, gardeners, and custodial staff . Phasma did most of the talking. It was apparent that she and Hux had known each other a while and were good friends. He started to feel the beginnings of jealousy , but then he felt Hux’s fingers sliding between his and they were holding hands again.

At the Denny’s, they swapped stories about the terrible guests they’d had to deal with that week while Hux and Kylo played footsy under the table. Kylo smiled brightly across at Hux, who grinned back at him just as widely. Kylo's face hurt from how much he'd been smiling recently, but he had honestly never been happier.

**Author's Note:**

>  **Glossary**  
>  Guest control: during parades/shows, cast members set up ropes/perimeters, monitor the guests so they don’t enter show areas, keep walkways clear, etc  
> Performance Assessment: the test proving you can run the attraction, know all the rules, etc  
> Lead: basically the Supervisor in charge of the attraction  
> Safety: a reprimand if you don’t follow the operating guide in a way the might endanger guests’ safety  
> On point: a cast member left “in charge” of the attraction while the lead is on lunch  
> Plugs: the rubber plugs that fill the many, many holes throughout the park when they don’t have rope poles/stanchions in them  
> Block eight: a fault in one of our brake zones when the vehicle is too … heavy  
> Tag out: leaving your ID behind so they know who has entered the attraction and can’t start it while you’re in there  
> Grouper: the cast member that groups and directs guests onto the ride vehicles  
> Cycle out: run the attraction until the guests currently riding have disembarked, and not letting anyone else on; auto cycle out means the ride will only allow so many dispatches before it turns itself off  
> FLIK cards: used to moniter how long the wait time is  
> Rotation: cycling through the different positions  
> Tripwire: a small set of metal bars that checks if straps are hanging out of the vehicles returning to the station, ensuring nothing gets caught  
> Heat Levels: certain temperatures mean we can remove certain costume pieces so we don't overheat  
> Audit: checking off that all the cast members are following the correct safety procedures for the attraction


End file.
